Jracle Alia 



FT MEADE ^ 

GenColl 

oecret 










COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



































































i v ** •** <s. •. > i ■ 


* 














































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































A story of 
New Turkey 


Dorothy Blatter 

Illustrated 6y 
the author 


JUNIOR PRESS BOOKS 

ALBEPjy^HITMAN 

Cf'^i co. 

CHICAGO 

1939 

cC^l^olo 





?21 

“On 

Co^Q. 



31-M ^ 

JUL -7 i939 


lA- 


€X)lA 131153 




* riO 



IVIeHMET was six years old. 
He lived in a little town in Turkey. 
- Every day he played with 
Keddy-the-Cat. One day every¬ 
thing went wrong. On this day the 
Cat scratched him. Mehmet was 
very unhappy. Keddy-the-Cat had 
never scratched Mehmet before. 



5 


























Mehmet left Keddy-the-Cat and 
ran after Tavuk-the-Hen. He kept 
his eyes on Tavuk-the-Hen and he 
didn’t look at anything else. Pretty 
soon he ran into a large water jar 
and fell flat on his face. 


6 


inwvSjj 




Mehmet went inside the house 
and started to roll his hoop. The 
baby’s cradle was in one corner of 
the room. The hoop rolled right 
into the cradle and the baby began 
to cry. 

Mehmet tried and tried, but he 
couldn’t get the baby to stop crying. 

7 








Mehmet went into the next room 
Ito watch his mother at her weaving. 
■He would surely be all right here. 
[But this was the day when every- 
I thing went wrong. In less than five 
minutes Mehmet had stepped into 
his mother’s box of bobbins. He got 
the threads all tangled up. 

His mother was very cross with 
him. “Mehmet, you had better go 
outdoors and play,” she said. 


8 







Little Mehmet went outdoors and« 
sat down on a big stone. He thought 
and thought and thought. But there 
wasn’t anything that he wanted to 
do. There wasn’t anything thathe* 
wanted to play. 

“I must be getting sick,” Mehmet 
said to himself. “I never felt like this 
before. Nothing seems right today.” 


9 











Mehmet decided that he would 
go to see his Uncle Ali. Uncle Ali 
was a doctor. He could make every¬ 
thing all right again. So Mehmet 
took his hoop and stick and went 
down the crooked little street. 


10 



















“Good morning, Mehmet,” said 
Uncle Ali. 

“Good morning,” answered Meh¬ 
met. He tried very hard to cry. 

“What is the matter?” asked 
Uncle Ali. “Do you have a pain?” 

“No,” said Mehmet, “but every¬ 
thing has gone wrong today.” He 
told his uncle all that had happened. 

Uncle Ali looked at Mehmet’s 
tongue and felt his pulse. “I know 
just what kind of medicine you 
need, but I haven’t any here. It is 
a special kind and you will have to 
find it for yourself.” He wrote some¬ 
thing on a piece of paper and gave 
it to Mehmet. * 


11 







_ jWOT 1 

Mehmet looked at the paper for 
fa long time. “But I can’t read this,” 
fhe said. 

C Uncle Ali laughed. “This is a 
fspecial kind of medicine, so I wrote 
lit out in Old Turkish letters. You 
fmust show this paper to everyone 
you meet, and someone will help 
you to find the right medicine.” 


12 










“Will the medicine be in a bottle 
or in a pill?” asked Mehmet. 

Uncle Ali laughed again. “Well, 
it is all in one piece, so I suppose it 
must be a little bit like a pill.” 

Mehmet shook hands with Uncle 
Ali and thanked him. Then he 
started out to find his medicine. 





























First he came to a shoemaker’s 
shop. A man was buying a pair of 
shoes. He put his foot on a piece 
of white paper and the shoemaker 
drew a line around the foot. In 
this way he would know just how 
large to make the shoes. 


Then the shoemaker showed the 
man many kinds and colors of 
leather. The man chose the kind 
he wanted. 


14 





When the man had left the shop 
Mehmet said to the shoemaker, 
“My Uncle Ali told me that if I 
could find this medicine I would be 
all right.” He gave the little piece 
of paper to the shoemaker. 


The shoemaker read the paper 
carefully and then shook his head. 
“This is very good medicine, but I 
haven’t any here. Perhaps the 
baker can help you.” 












Mehmet went to the baker’s 
shop. The baker was taking some 
crisp brown simits out of the oven. 
They looked like bracelets made of 
bread and were covered with seeds. 

Mehmet gave the baker the little 
piece of paper and asked, “Do you 
have any of this medicine in your 
shop?” 

The baker read the paper. “No, 
Mehmet, I haven’t any of this 
medicine. But it is very good and 
you must keep on looking until 
you find it. Perhaps the tinsmith 
can help you.” 





I’ crusty simit. Mehmet thanked him 
.land started down the street to the 
ijjjtinshop. 

I ^ The tinsmith was lining a little 
1 ,)’brass bowl with tin. He heated the 
bowl and spread the melted tin on 
V*',the inside. When he had finished, 
fir Mehmet asked, “Have you any of 
this medicine in your shop?” And 
he showed him the little piece of 
paper. 


17 












Then he smiled. “But when you 
do find it I am afraid you will have 
a hard time to swallow it.” 


The tinsmith read the paper very 
carefully. “I am sorry that I haven’t 
any of this medicine, for I am sure 
it will make you well. Don’t give up 
until you find it. Perhaps the shep¬ 
herd can help you.” 


18 








Mehmet took the little piece of 
paper, then he walked and walked 
until he was out in the country. He 
kept on going until he found a 
shepherd with a flock of sheep. 
Mehmet walked quietly so that 
he would not frighten the sheep. 








Mehmet gave the little piece of 
paper to the shepherd and asked?! 
“Have you any of this medicine?^ 

The shepherd looked at thel 
paper and then gave it back to' 
Mehmet. “I am sorry, but I cannot 
read this paper. A few years ago 
everyone in Turkey had to learn to 
read. So I learned the New Turkish 
writing. But this is written in Old 
Turkish letters and I cannot read 
them. Perhaps the schoolteacher 
can help you.” 


20 



and he was crying as hard as he 
could cry. 


21 







little boy. “What is the matter? 
Don’t you feel well?” 

The little boy stopped crying and 
looked up at Mehmet. “The cat 
scratched me. The dog tried to bite 
me. The hen pecked at me. And 
now the wheel has come off 
wagon.” He began to cry 


“You must have the same sick¬ 
ness that I have,” said Mehmet. 
“Come with me. When I find this 
magic medicine I will give you 
some.” 


22 










So Mehmet put the little piece 
of paper under a stone and began 
to help the little boy fix his wagon. 
At last they got the wheel back 
the wagon. 

en Mehmet picked up the 
piece of paper and they started 
down the road. Soon they came to 
a long, smooth hill. 


All right," said the little boy, 
“but let’s fix my wagon first.” 


23 










“Let’s coast down 
Mehmet. 

“Yes, let’s do that,” said 
friend. 


They went down the hill like the 
wind, and off went the little boy’s 
cap. They pulled the wagon to the 
top of the hill and found the lost 
cap. Then they went down the hill 
again. Again and again and again 
they coasted down the hill. 






Mehmet showed his little friend 
how to roll a hoop. ’Round and 
’round and ’round the boys ran. 
The hoop went faster and faster. 

“We are going around as fast as 
a top,” shouted Mehmet. 


25 














the little boy pulled a top 
of his pocket. He showed 
Mehmet how to spin it. The two 
boys began to spin the top as fast 
as they could. Then along came 
Uncle Ali. 


26 



“Oh-ho! Oh-ho! So you 
found your magic medicine,” he 
said. “It has made you well. And I 
think you have given some 
little friend too.” 


“Oh no, Uncle Ali,” said Mehmet. 
“I forgot all about the medicine . 4 
But everything is all right now. 
I have a little boy to play with.” 


27 





“Of course'" _ 
said Uncle Ali, “for you have taken! 
my magic medicine. Let me show* 
you what I wrote on the little piece! 
of paper.” And he showed MehmetJ 
the Old Turkish writing. It lookec 
like this: ^J>‘ 


28 





& Then he turned the little piece 
of paper over and wrote the same 
thing in New Turkish letters. They 
ooked like these: 

Magic Medicine for Mehmet. 
Find Another little Boy to 
Play With. 












“Ha! Ha!” laughed little Mehmet, 
and he pointed to the little boy, 
“So you are my magic medicine! 
Shall I swallow you?” 







“Ho! Ho!” laughed the little boy, 
and he pointed to Mehmet. “You 
are f»y magic medicine. I guess we’ll 
have to eat each other up.” 


31 











Uncle Ali laughed and said, “You 
boys make me think of a song I 
used to sing when I was small. Let 
me teach it to you.” 

So Uncle Ali taught the boys his 
little song. As he went on his way 
the two little boys began to dance. 
All the while they sang: 


“You’re my magic medicine, 
I’ll swallow you with joy; 
The finest pill for any ill 
Is just another little boy.” 


32 







is 


13 


i 


You’re nmj magic med-i-cine, 


13 



s 1 MV " ■ 

135 * 


1 will swol-low ipu with jol 


* 

The ' 

fin-est pill for 

onill is 


7 - 






/ 









YU 

■v m 








X 

Z2ZZZ 






• w 

jLL 


just on-oth-er lit-tie boi| 



































































































M ftxu-jza 




















































































